Few of the players know that quite as well as Mr. Paisley, 80, whose Democratic Unionist Party dominates the Protestant voters seeking continued ties to Britain.

And the implications of a continued tie are just as intense, since Montana law says that a tied House automatically gives the speaker's chair to a member of the governor's party.

In a continued tie, for the next five minutes teams play with three players each.

In a continued tie, the game is terminated with each team represented by one player, with the ball put in play at midfield.

W. Michael Blumenthal, the Unisys chairman and a former Treasury Secretary under President Carter, had been a leading defender of continued corporate ties.

The Hill case was sharply criticized by Peter Robinson, a political leader among Ulster's hard-line Unionist faction, which strongly supports continued ties with Britain.

He said the continued ties with Iran and radical Islamic groups was one of his "main concerns."

"I depict the Unionist community in a fair light," Mr. Mitchell said, referring to the Protestant groups that oppose Irish republicanism and seek continued ties with Britain.

Mr. Cheney should remove any doubt that his continued ties to Halliburton represent a conflict of interest.

Favoring continued ties with Belgium, Tshombe asked the Belgian government to send military officers to recruit and train a Katangese army.